Ketamine Infusion Therapy in San Antonio & Austin, Texas

Klarisana offers outpatient low-dose ketamine infusion therapy for the treatment of severe depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, and various chronic pain conditions. Ketamine for severe depression and PTSD, is a safe and effective medication which has proven itself on battlefields, emergency departments, and operating rooms for years. Almost two decades of research have now shown that it can have a greater than 70% response rate in patients with severe treatment resistant depression and PTSD. Ketamine can also be very effective for various forms of chronic pain and reduce the need for dangerous narcotic pain medications. Klarisana was the first healthcare center in San Antonio that was created from the ground up to offer ketamine therapy. We have developed and refined the ability to not just provide an infusion...we provide a healing experience…

Depression

Severe depression can take hold of a person’s life in a way few other conditions can. Ketamine infusion therapy represents a whole different paradigm with regards to the treatment of severe treatment resistant depression. In addition to a fundamentally different biochemical pathway, ketamine therapy allows for powerful changes in perception and perspective. The exact mechanism of action is complex and is still being characterized. There is certainly a large element that revolves around inhibiting the NMDA receptor and setting up a process of “synaptogenesis” where new neural connections are made. Researchers are finding that there are other receptors involved as well and that ketamine’s effects are likely multifactorial. When patients receive a ketamine infusion they experience powerful changes in perception and their sense of time and space. Some critics feel that these are undesirable effects that need to be eliminated. We strongly disagree. We feel that this experience is a critical and essential part of the therapy. In fact we call this effect the Psychotropic Therapeutic Response (PTR) and guide our dosing to help patients experience it.

PTSD

The trauma that leads to PTSD can derail a person’s ability to interact with loved ones and lead a productive life. We have seen the damage that it can do to patients and families. The profound effect it has on America’s Veterans was the spark that led to the creation of Klarisana. Today, the treatment of PTSD in both Veterans and non-veterans is a core mission to our operation. Our clinical experience and a growing body of scientific literature is showing that ketamine infusion therapy can be a powerful tool in the treatment of PTSD. We have found that the infusions can create a certain “psychic distance” between a patient’s trauma and his/her current reality. This combined with facilitated psychotherapy can patients “repurpose the trauma” and help them to move into a much more manageable and productive mind space. We are also actively rolling out a program of “facilitated psychotherapy” for patients to work with a mental health profession during a ketamine infusion. This can be an especially powerful tool to help patients address their symptoms and take their lives back.

Chronic Pain

Ketamine infusion therapy can be very effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, trigeminal neuralgia, cyclic vomiting, chronic migraine headache, and other chronic syndromes for which no good answer has been found. Many of these conditions are propagated through a mechanism called “central sensitization” which creates a frustrating feedback look where pain creates more pain. Unfortunately many chronic pain patients simultaneously get locked into a dangerous cycle where they rely more and more on increasing doses of narcotic pain medications. These medications not only become less effective with time but they can become counterproductive in their own right through a process called “opioid-induced hyper-analgesia.” Ketamine works on the NMDA receptor to break the cycle of central sensitization. In many patients, ketamine can offer a fundamentally new solution to break the cycle of pain and decrease the use of opioid pain medications.